Conventionally, small form factor devices, such as handheld electronic devices, have a display arrangement that includes various layers. The various layers include at least a display technology layer, and may additionally include a sensing arrangement and/or a cover window disposed over the display technology layer. In some cases, the layers may be stacked and adjacent one another, and may even be laminated thereby forming a single unit. In other cases, at least some of the layers are spatially separated and not directly adjacent. For example, the cover window and/or sensing arrangement may be disposed above the display such that there is a gap therebetween. By way of example, the display technology layer may include or pertain to a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) that includes a Liquid Crystal Module (LCM). The LCM generally includes an upper glass sheet and a lower glass sheet that sandwich a liquid crystal layer therebetween. The sensing arrangement may be a touch sensing arrangement such as those used to create a touch screen. For example, a capacitive sensing touch screen can include substantially transparent sensing points or nodes dispersed about a sheet of glass (or plastic). In addition, the cover window, which is typically designed as the outer protective barrier, may be glass or plastic. However, glass tends to provide a better protective barrier given its strength and scratch resistance.
Typically, the LCM is the weakest portion of the display region in terms of strength against bending and damage if dropped. The other layers may be formed with stronger glass materials and/or may be thicker, thereby increasing their strength. Because the LCM is the weakest portion, the LCM is often the part of the display region most susceptible to damage when the small form factor device is stressed as for example in a drop event. Here, one or both sheets of glass may crack or break as a result of the drop event. This problem is exacerbated by the trend to make handheld electronic devices thinner.
Thus, there is a need for improved approaches to make displays that are not only thin but also sufficiently strong to avoid unnecessary damage.